2 lakh trees to be felled in Baran, Jhalawar

TNN | Apr 29, 2013, 01.32 AM IST

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READ MORE Japan International Cooperation Agency|Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Ltd.|Forestry|desertification|Chhattisgarh

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JAIPUR: The forest advisory committee (FAC) of Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) in a recent meeting recommended diversion of 4493.30 hectares of forest land for non-forestry use. This would involve felling of 7,55,760 trees in eight different states. The states which would lose maximum forest cover for development projects are Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

Based on the statistics available, Rajasthan is leading with largest diversion of forest land, 1,835 hectares, which is 41% of the total diversion for just one proposal which also involves felling of two lakh trees, the largest number of trees for a single project.

According to sources, Rajasthan water resources department's Parwan major irrigation project in Baran and Jhalawar forest divisions was added for consideration by forest advisory committee at the last minute to avoid scrutiny by civil society and NGOs.

Among the projects recommended, irrigation sector with three projects has taken the largest chunk in diversion of forest land, i.e., nearly 1,950 hectares or 43% of the total recommendation. The FAC has recommended diversion of 999.33 hectares, which is 22% of the total forest area for a single drinking water project in Maharashtra. And mining continues to be among the sectors requiring large diversion, ie, nearly 900 hectares or 20%.

However, among the 26 projects that were put up for approval before the forest advisory committee, only 16 projects in eight different states were recommended. One project that was rejected was in Chhattisgarh where a diversion of 1987.912 hectares of forest land for permission of exploratory drilling of 2 inch 235 bore hole in favour of M/s Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Ltd.

"It is ironical that at one end the government receives a loan for Rs 1,152.53 crore from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for Rajasthan Forestry & Biodiversity Project (RFBP) and on the flip side the government clears forests for irrigation projects. Why alternatives can't be explored instead of destroying forests," asked an official.
The very objective of JICA funding for afforestation in Rajasthan is to enhance forest area. "The state faces a major challenge of desertification due to severe climatic conditions. Forest and tree cover of Rajasthan is only 7.11% (forest cover is 4.69% and tree cover is 2.42% respectively) which is far below the national average of 23.4%. More than 60% of western Rajasthan is affected by desertification and requires intensive management to contain desertification," reads the project objective.
"Though compensatory afforestation is supposed to be done for all the forest diversion cases, we all know about the dismal track record of afforestation in the country. And you cannot redo a natural forest," said an official.